If you’re lucky enough to spend 14 February in Budapest, then you have every reason for taking advantage of the city’s romantic air: let us help you max out Valentine’s Day with your significant other!
A river cruise dinner along the Danube (possibly during sundown) is essential to experience Budapest in its most romantic guise: glide through the enchanting city on glimmering waves, take spectacular selfies as you drift by the many lit-up landmarks of the two UNESCO World Heritage river banks, and steal a kiss from your partner beneath the Chain Bridge for a long and joyous relationship!
Do away with your uncomfortably small bath and instead relax and soak together in one of the many historic thermal baths of Budapest. “Fürdőzés” can either be a couple of hours or a full-day program: spa-kingdoms such as Lukács, Széchenyi, Rudas and Gellért are equipped with all the necessary ingredients for a full-scale charge-up of your battered down batteries, including massage therapy, various saunas, a range of pools filled with healing waters, and imperial splendour. Look out for the Valentine’s Day sparties!
Gellért SpaWithout a doubt, Margaret Island is Budapest’s most picturesque spot: the leafy patch of earth sitting between the two parts of the city has been a favourite venue of lovers for hundreds of years, and its wonderful gardens, romantic ruins (dating from the 13th century), free-to-visit petting zoo and beautiful water tower (with its very own Kiss Hall!) are still reason enough for a walk in the park!
A bit of culture never hurts, either: take your other half to an interesting exhibition about the nightlife of turn-of-the-century Budapest (The Unknown Görl at the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism) or get two tickets to Tycho’s show, the king of chillout downtempo music, to be held aboard the A38 ship.
Last but not least, no day is perfect without a dinner: as Valentine’s Day is basically the most commercial business-friendly holiday of all, naturally, most of the restaurants in Budapest will have a special offer going on, with lovey-dovey deals for two ‘round every corner. Still, you might want something a bit more intimate, maybe a cosy off-the-beaten-path bistro in the downtown area (Zeller), a post-office-turned-cute-restaurant in the green belt of Buda (Fióka), or a lakeside establishment behind Heroes’ Square (Robinson). Whichever way you choose, make sure to always keep in mind: Valentine’s Day might just be a cash-grab holiday, but love is very real.
